Initially, the Manatees were scheduled to play Harford Community College from Maryland (NJCAA Region 20) in the JUCO Kickoff Classic, but have pulled out.
Last Time Out:
The Manatees finished last season 45-16 overall with a 16-4 record in the Suncoast. Despite finishing second in the standings to four-time defending Suncoast Regular Season Champions in Florida Southwestern (FSW), the Manatees did host and win the Suncoast Conference Tournament after sweeping Hillsborough to qualify for the FCSAA State Tournament where they went 1-2 and being the fourth team eliminated out of eight teams that participated.
Fun Facts (2012-present):
SCF is 23-9 at the JUCO Kickoff Classic (8-1 against teams not from Florida) and 6-2 in their opening games.
Preseason Polls:
Last season, the Manatees were ranked at #20 in the NJCAA Top 20 National Poll and went as high as #19 in the nation. Currently in the preseason polls, the Manatees are receiving votes in the national polls.
Schuerman's 200th Milestone:
The Manatees are led by head coach Mandy Schuerman, who enters her sixth season as head coach. A former Florida Gator, Schuerman was the 2002 SEC Co-Freshman of the Year and a member of the All-SEC Second Team (2002), Cox Communications Classic All-Tournament Team (2003) and NCAA Regional All-Tournament team (2004) before earning coaching experience with FIU and Presbyterian College.
Prior to her arrival at SCF, Schuerman was head softball coach for Bloomingdale High School where she helped lead them to a 28-3 record and a FHSAA 8A State Championship before accepting the job as head coach for the Manatees.
On January 30, 2015, Schuerman earned her first win with the Manatees against Illinois Central College. Three seasons later, Schuerman earned her 100th win with the Manatees on January 27, 2018 (vs Lake Sumter). Last season, she earned her 150th win in a split against Central Florida (3/2/19).
Currently, Schuerman has an overall record of 177-99 and a 67-30 record in Suncoast play and will be attempting to go for her 200th career win for the Manatees as she needs 23 wins to do so.
Schuerman is joined by longtime assistant coach Michelle Puls, Tony Cummins and student manager Katie Stincer.
Out with the Old (kind of), in with the New:
The Manatees lost six players on their team (five sophomores) with three of them continuing their softball careers, Cheyenne "Shy" Nunez, Haley McFadden and Kailey Christian.
Nunez transferred to play at USC Upstate. The Okeechobee native led the Manatees in stolen bases (38) while batting .360 with a home run and 27 RBI and being named a member of the Suncoast First Team and FCSAA All-State Second Team. In fact, Nunez broke the single season record for most stolen bases on March 27. Nunez will have two years of eligibility remaining upon her arrival with the Spartans.
McFadden will continue playing at Warner University (NAIA). McFadden finished her sophomore campaign batting .313 with two home runs and 31 RBI while being named a member of the All-Suncoast Second Team. McFadden will have two years of eligibility remaining.
Christian decided to transfer as a sophomore to Delaware due to her high academic standings. Christian finished her freshman campaign on the mound with 22-4 record, 2.19 ERA and 196 strikeouts while batting a team-leading .366 with a home run and 36 RBI. Christian was named a member of the All-Suncoast First Team, Suncoast All-Academic Team and the FCSAA All-State Second Team in the end. She will have three years of eligibility remaining.
The returning sophomores on the team are Makayla Benavidez, Madelyn 'Maddy' Graham, Ashlee Zientek and Madi LoCastro.
Makayla Benavidez:
Primarily rotating between being a pinch runner and playing left field, Benavidez finished her freshman campaign batting .356 with 32 hits, six RBI and nine stolen bases. Her best outing with the Manatees was against Abraham Baldwin at the Seminole Tournament where she went 2-for-3 with two RBI and three stolen bases.
Madelyn Graham:
Rotating between catcher, third base, first base and designated player, Graham finished her freshman campaign batting .299 with four home runs and 29 RBI while maintaining a .983 fielding percentage. Graham's best game was against Kalamazoo Valley CC where she went 3-for-4 with a home run and four RBI. In that series, she went 4-for-7 with seven RBI. Graham was named a member of the Suncoast All-Academic Team.
Ashlee Zientek:
One of three pitchers from last season, Zientek finished last season 9-4 with a 3.23 ERA and 76 strikeouts while batting .172 with five RBI. Announced November 14, 2019, Zientek will be transferring to Ursuline College (NCAA DII) with two years of eligibility remaining after her sophomore campaign with SCF. Zientek joined Nunez, Christian, and Graham on the Suncoast All-Academic Team.
Madi LoCastro:
LoCastro was one of two players that would be considered as a hybrid player (the other being Kailey Christian). On the mound, LoCastro went 11-3 with a 2.25 ERA and 50 strikeouts while at the plate she batted .331 with a team-leading seven home runs and 33 RBI, while being named a member of the All-Suncoast Second Team. LoCastro's best game as a pitcher was a 9-2 win Hillsborough (3/12/19) where she threw a complete game with eight strikeouts. As a batter, her best game was the 8-0 win against Santa Fe (2/9/19) where she went 2-for-2 with two home runs and four RBI. In fact, she was one of the only two Manatees with a multi-home run game (the other was former player Lauren Bostwick).
With only four sophomores, Schuerman has enlisted 14 freshman to join the team: Lauren Hutcherson, McKenzie Nix, Emily Hughes, Morgan Weber, Lilly Salazar, Lauren Lightbody, Summer Glenn, Ally Hulme, Kristin Kopp, Kelsi Jeffries, Maddie Koczersut, Madi Schaefer, Samantha Hampton and Carly Bogart.
Side Note: Hughes, Koczersut and Schaefer all came from Lakewood Ranch High School, so in a way, LoCastro, who played with all three players prior to SCF, came with backup.
Scouting NWFS:
The Raiders finished last season 24-26 overall with an 8-11 record in the Panhandle Conference where they fell in the Panhandle Conference Tournament (third place in standings). They are led by Andy Lee, who enters his first season with the Raiders after stints with LSU-Eunice and Hinds Community College.
The Raiders lost eight sophomores, which included their lead home run hitter in Maggie Wheless, who hit 12 home runs and 31 RBI, and stolen base leader in Thalia Vieira da Silva. They also lost Amber Byrd who went 2-1 with one save, a 3.89 ERA and 75 strikeouts.
Key possible returners for the Raiders will include Ashley Autuori and Sydney Byrd. Autouri batted a team-leading .418 batting average with eight home runs and a team-leading 64 RBI, while Byrd batted .310 with seven home runs and 26 RBI.
On the mound, Lauren Rase will be a key returner after finishing her freshman campaign 5-0 with a 4.06 ERA and 22 strikeouts.
Scouting Pensacola:
The Pirates finished last season 28-22 overall with a 7-14 record in the Panhandle Conference. They finished 1-2 in the Panhandle Conference Tournament.
The team will be without their lead home run hitter in Kaeleen Koehler. Koehler led the team with five home runs and 41 RBI.
They will also be without their top pitcher in Shayne O'Connell. O'Connell finished last season 17-8 overall with a 1.87 ERA, two saves and 234 strikeouts.
Scouting PBSC:
The Panthers finished last season 4-46 overall with a 1-19 record in the Southern Conference (last place). This will be the last season of softball for the Panthers as they are dropping their softball program and will instead have a women's soccer team.
Rileigh Manning returns as their main offensive player as she finished with two home runs and 19 RBI.
Scouting Seminole State:
The Raiders finished last season 46-17 overall with a 19-5 record in the Mid-Florida Conference. They would finish as the runner-up in conference before going 1-2 in the FCSAA State Tournament.
The Raiders will be without reigning Mid-Florida Player of the Year Chelsea Peace, who hit 24 home runs and 63 RBI, as well as Gabi LoPresti who went 10-4 overall with two saves, a 4.06 ERA and 37 strikeouts.
Key returners for the Seminoles include Marissa Adame and Samantha Guider. Adame, who was named a member of the Mid-Florida Conference Second Team, finished her freshman campaign with a 17-7 record, one save, a 2.59 ERA and 124 strikeouts. Guider was named to the Mid-Florida Conference First Team after finishing her freshman campaign with a 13-4 record, four saves, a 1.97 ERA and 101 strikeouts.
Scouting CCF:
The Patriots finished last season 58-11 overall with a 23-1 record in the Mid-Florida Conference. Not only did they win the Mid-Florida Regular Season Championship, but they also won the FCSAA State Championship and advance to the NJCAA DI Softball Championship where they went as far as the quarterfinals of the main round before their season ended in the semifinals of the consolation round. The Patriots finished at #3 in the nation.
The team will lose 10 players, which includes their home run hitter in Tiffany Steczo, who hit 28 home runs with 72 RBI. Steczo has transferred to McNeese State to finish her softball career.
Mid-Florida Conference and FCSAA All-State Pitcher of the Year Kelsie Rivers is also departing as she will transfer to South Alabama with three years of eligibility remaining. Rivers finished her freshman campaign with a 25-5 record, one save, 2.94 ERA and 157 strikeouts.
Nina Fernandez has transferred to NCAA DII Nova Southeastern with two years of eligibility remaining. Fernandez finished behind Steczo with 17 home runs and 71 RBI.
Key returners for the Patriots include Barbara Cook and Devyn Howard. Cook finished her freshman campaign with a 21-4 record, one save, a 2.87 ERA and 80 strikeouts.
Cook was named a member of the All-Mid-Florida Conference First Team.
Howard joined Cook as a member of the All-Mid-Florida Conference First Team and was named the FCSAA All-Tournament Team MVP. Howard finished with 10 home runs and 56 RBI.
Series History (2012-present):
The Manatees have their histories with NWFS, Pensacola State, Palm Beach State, Seminole and CCF.
Against NWFS, the series is split at 1-1 overall. The first time both teams met was in the first round of the 2012 FCSAA State Tournament where the Manatees won 4-0. NWFS returned the favor at the 2017 FCSAA State Tournament where they won 3-2.
The Manatees hold a 1-1 split with Pensacola. The first time was on March 14, 2018 where the Pirates won 9-4. The Manatees return the favor coincidentally at the JUCO Kickoff Classic last season where they won 6-2.
Against PBSC, the Manatees hold an astonishing 18-1 overall series record. The Manatees swept the Panthers last season winning by scores of 8-0 (mercy rule) and 3-2 (eight innings). The Panthers lone win was on March 15, 2014 where they won 7-6 in eight innings.
The Manatees are 7-12 against Seminole State. Last time both teams met was during the 2018 season where the Manatees claimed a 2-1 series winning (W: 1-0 1/27/18, 4-2 2/3/18, L: 5-3 2/3/18).
The grudging rivalry remains in the favor of the Patriots as the Manatees are 13-18 overall. Last season, the Manatees claimed the overall series 3-2 both home, away and on neutral grounds (W: 1/25 6-5, 3/2 6-0, 4/25 10-6; L: 3/2 5-3, 4/25 9-5).
How to Keep Up:
Fans can keep up to date with all five teams on Twitter:
SCF: @SCFSoftball
NWFS:@NWFSoftball
Pensacola: @PSCSoftball
Palm Beach State: @PBSCPanthers
Seminole: @SeminoleStateSB
CCF: @CFPats
SCF: @SCFSoftball
NWFS:@NWFSoftball
Pensacola: @PSCSoftball
Palm Beach State: @PBSCPanthers
Seminole: @SeminoleStateSB
CCF: @CFPats
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